Page 96

“Let’s go, people!”Sergeant White’s voice broke over the radio. “We need to get into position and fast before the Vitales realize what we’re up to.”

My chest squeezed so tight I briefly wondered if I should stop and go straight to the hospital. I tugged my bulletproof vest away from my body and groaned. Stupid thing feels like it’s suffocating me.

“Stop fidgeting,” Rourke muttered.

“Can’t.” I squirmed in my seat.

It was almost time to leave the car, and then the action would start. This was that exact moment that I loved on rollercoasters, that second when the platform shifted, and there was no going back. The truth was that hundreds of feet up in the air, it got my dick so hard I could burst. But now? I shivered. Cold sweat trickled down my back, and I was pretty sure my balls had jumped up inside my body.

“Are you good or not?” Rourke snapped.

His eyebrows pinched together and his mouth turned down into a deep frown, bordering on a scowl.

“Let me get ready my way, and you get ready your way, okay?” I snapped. “What does it matter to you if I can’t sit still?”

Rourke’s eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”

My life is the problem. I wanted to tell him to leave it the fuck alone, but I was done talking. Any second now, we’d be raiding one of the Vitales biggest warehouses. It was the kind of betrayal there was no coming back from. When Enzo found out, we wouldn’t be fucking in dark alleys. I’d be dead.

Shadows walked back and forth around the warehouse. There were guards all over. No doubt there were more inside. Every second that ticked by made the hair on my arms raise. I adjusted my vest again, mapping out every scenario that could possibly happen.

I shifted in my seat, and I caught Rourke glaring at me. Fuck, something bit him on the ass. To be fair the entire precinct was up in arms after hearing and seeing what had happened to former officer Chandler. My stomach twisted in knots just thinking about it. I’d prided myself on having a strong stomach, but I’d tossed up my entire breakfast after seeing the pictures of his mutilated body.

“What are you going through, Caster?” Rourke asked.

I pressed the back of my hand over my mouth, forcing myself to swallow back the bile. “Nothing. Just remembered the stuff with Aaron Chandler.”

Rourke stiffened, and his mouth dipped further in a frown. “A good man tortured like that. Only a monster could do it.” He ground his teeth as he stared intently at the warehouse. “Fucking Vitales.”

At the mention of them, my heart skipped a beat. Enzo. “We don’t know it was them.” Even as I said it, a part of me knew that was false. It could have very well been Enzo who did it. “He was a dirty cop. I hardly think he qualifies as a good man.”

Rourke scoffed and slapped the steering wheel. “Are you sticking up for them now? Do you need to stay back?”

I shook my head.

“Caster, you need to be on the good side. I can’t have a partner who doesn’t have my back.”

He’s right. What the hell am I even thinking?I nodded. “I got your back, Rouke.”

We stared at each other for another minute before the same old smile appeared on Rouke’s face. It was jarring how quickly his facial expressions had changed. “Good, it’s you and me.” He touched my arm, but it felt off, that same icy feeling permeating my veins.

I nodded, giving the only reaction I could before turning back and watching the warehouse. Buzzing came from Rouke’s side, but I knew it wasn’t the chief calling or Sarge. They would use the radios for that. I forced myself to relax.

“We should move,” Rourke muttered.

I turned to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Everyone else is out front. There’s only us and two other guys back here because all the action is going to be up there. Come on, if we get in there we can clear shit out and rub it in their faces.”

I blinked at Rourke like he’d lost it. “We barely know how many men are in there. Ten, twenty? But there could be more. We’re going to take them all on?”

Rourke gazed at the building. “No. We’re going in from the back. They won’t even know we’re there. Let’s go in, start clearing them out, and Sarge will have the rest join us any minute now. But if they get in there and we’ve already started, guess who ends up looking like big damn heroes? Us.”

“Or,” I said. “We both lose our jobs. And if the chief is really off, he finds some charge to stick to us so we sit in jail for a while thinking about how fucking stupid we were.”

“I thought you wanted to be a detective?” he asked. “Aren’t you ready to finally shove it in everyone’s face and get there? The chief will promote you so quick your head will spin if you take down the Vitales.”

“They’re probably not even here,” I said, my pulse racing at the thought of finally reaching my dream. It was so close I could taste it.